


Tax Benefits

by LilyRosePotter



Series: In this moment forever [2]
Category: Crooked Media RPF
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 18:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15735384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyRosePotter/pseuds/LilyRosePotter
Summary: “Tommy,” Jon says carefully. “Did you really just suggest we get married fortax reasons?”





	Tax Benefits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cestlabee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestlabee/gifts).



Tommy is sitting on the couch surrounded by documents. Sometimes Jon thinks the only constant in their lives is paperwork. These documents aren’t classified at least, so Tommy is sitting in the living room with them instead of locked in the office or at work until all hours of the night. 

Instead, Tommy is working through the documents associated with leaving the White House, the documents for starting Fenway, the documents with proposals from realtors for their theoretical move, the documents for their taxes. Because of course, on top of everything else going on right now, everything else they have to do before leaving the best jobs they’ll ever have on Friday, Tommy in his obsessive as shit mindset won’t budge on getting their taxes done more than a month ahead of when necessary. 

“It kinda feels like we shouldn’t have to fill out long form tax documents, we work for the boss of the IRS,” Jon observes. Tommy rolls his eyes without lifting his head. Emily gives him a courtesy laugh, at least, but she seems pretty focused on her shopping list. 

 _Lovett would appreciate that joke_ , Jon thinks grumpily. He’s lost his phone somewhere in his own pile of documents. He finally locates it under the research team’s angsty commentary on his draft. The draft of the last speech he’ll write as chief presidential speechwriter. 

“So I’ve been running the numbers,” Tommy says, barely looking up from his papers. 

“Hm?” Jon looks up from his phone. _There are probably more important tax loopholes to worry about,_ Lovett has responded, but he included a laughing emoji so Jon is calling that a win.

“Our deductions,” Tommy says patiently. “Two of us should get married, so we can file jointly. It would save us a couple thousand dollars at least.” 

Emily’s coffee mug hits the floor.

Jon chances a look over at her as he sets his phone down, texts abandoned. Her face is completely white and her fingers are clenched in her lap. 

“Em! What happened?” Tommy looks up from his papers for the first time in an hour. She shakes her head, silent and pale. 

“Tommy,” Jon says carefully, thinking about his locked desk drawer. “Did you really just suggest we get married for _tax reasons_?” 

“Yeah,” Tommy shrugs, unconcerned, like he didn’t just- “it’s been, what, eleven years? Were you planning to ditch out?” 

“I’m going to the store,” Emily says abruptly, voice wobbling. She leaves her notepad on the couch as she pushes off it.

Jon catches her hand as she rushes past him, squeezing reassuringly. Emily gives him a tight smile before pulling her hand away. 

“I’m not planning to go anywhere, no,” Jon says firmly. 

“Me neither, figure out your fucking math and we’ll go to city hall tomorrow,” Emily snaps and then she’s gone.

The sound of the door slamming seems to echo for a long time after she’s gone. 

“What the _fuck_?” Tommy asks, face wrinkled in confusion.  

Jon looks at him incredulously. “Do you not- Tommy that was like the least romantic thing you’ve ever done.”

“I was just trying to-” Tommy starts. Jon can see the moment when it clicks. “Wait, you don’t think Em wants…” 

“Yeah I do think Em wants,” Jon says sharply. He knows that Em wants, actually. “She definitely wants something more than ‘hey we can save money.’” 

Tommy frowns. “I just thought- I dunno Jon, this isn’t exactly a big church wedding kinda relationship? Like we quite literally can’t- I mean legally we’re going to have to choose two of us anyway, it doesn’t seem like a- I never thought about getting married as an option, thing, whatever.” 

“Fuck Tom,” Jon says. “I mean, no it’s not gonna be like, traditional, but we’ve been making stuff our own for over a decade, I kinda figured we could make this our own too. And it’s still- we can still make a commitment y’know?” 

“I thought we had,” Tommy says in a small voice. Judging by his face he’s rethinking a lot of things. “I thought living together and loving each other and building a life together was a commitment.”

“It _is_ Tommy!” Jon says. “It’s just- come here.” Jon tugs him to his feet and leads him to the office.

“This is your desk,” Tommy says questioningly. 

“Yeah,” Jon laughs, digging in his pocket for his keyring. He unlocks the drawer and slides it open, reaching inside for the box. “Here.”

Tommy’s face wrinkles as he stares at it, but when he slides the lid off, his eyes widen. “Jon,” he breathes. 

“I was gonna- Friday night we’re doing the going out with everyone thing, but Saturday I was going to take you guys to Fiola Mare and-” Jon shrugs. “I don’t want to do this plausible deniability, hiding from political scandal bullshit anymore. I want you two to be mine, in every possible way.” 

“I didn’t know,” Tommy says softly, still staring at the rings. “I just- it seemed logical is all, I hadn’t thought about it in years. You’re already mine.”

“We are,” Jon says softly, reaching out to pull Tommy in for a hug. “But do you blame me for wanting to put a ring on it?” 

Tommy laughs a little against Jon’s chest. “No. And I’ll let you keep your secret plans, but I do need to apologize to Em, huh? And to you. I didn’t mean to be unromantic about it, and of course I want to marry you, whatever it looks like.” 

“I know,” Jon murmurs, kissing the top of Tommy’s head. “And so does Emily.”

 

* * *

 

 

 _So are you pushing the plan forward?_  Jon frowns at his phone as he takes the steps two at a time to the apartment. He stops on the landing after the second time he almost eats it trying to walk and respond. 

 _She called you_ , he sends first with the teeth clenched emoji. He’s not surprised of course, Emily and Lovett talk about everything. Whether she called before or after Jon and Tommy got called into fucking work right as Em got home laden down with groceries, still shaking a little, is the real question. _And no I’m not, but I did spoil it for Tommy, had to shake him somehow._  

Jon is halfway up the next set of stairs when he realizes. _You didn’t tell her, did you???_ Lovett’s seen the rings, helped pick them out over Facetime in the jewelry store two months ago, but he’s been sworn to fucking secrecy and if he folded in the face of upset Emily… Jon won’t blame him.

 _Of course I didn’t._ Jon can see Lovett’s annoyed face as he fits the key in the lock and his phone buzzes again. _I can keep a secret_.

_Unlike you_

_Though maybe you should have read Tommy in a while ago._

_Spared us all the trouble_.  

Jon rolls his eyes. _I wanted to surprise BOTH of them._ He pushes the door open and is greeted by the soft sounds of conversation in the living room. Tommy beat him home then.  

“I really _am_ sorry Emily,” Tommy says earnestly. “You know I love you so fucking much. I really just thought that it was settled and I know that was like… I never want to take you for granted and I’m sorry.” 

Emily breathes slowly. Jon takes a couple steps forward until he’s in the doorway but doesn’t enter the living room yet. Tommy and Emily are on the couch, close together, holding hands. 

“I know it’s stupid,” she says slowly, face twisted, “but I’ve, you know, wanted to do the whole wedding thing since I was a little kid. And it’s been you at the other end of the aisle since we were nineteen Tommy. The three people thing was a little bit of a wrinkle, but I worked around it, mentally, somewhere around the time you both left me here to campaign and I wasn’t worried about losing you. It just seemed inevitable, and then we never fucking _talked_ about it.” Her voice breaks. 

“Emily,” Tommy breathes. Jon wants to hold her, but he wants to hear the rest of this more so he waits. 

“I know, I know,” she says quickly. “It’s been crazy years and you were doing important things and I really- I know you both love me, I’m not like, thinking this isn’t real or whatever. But everyone I know keeps getting married and I’ve gone to _so many_ weddings alone cause you were working and I just. I want it Tom. And I definitely don’t want it for the tax deduction.”  

Tommy ducks his head in shame. “So… I fucked up,” he laughs darkly. “I want everything with you Em. I’m sorry you’ve been holding all this in.” 

Emily tilts her head at Tommy with a tiny smile before pulling him close to her chest. “I know love,” she says. “I want everything with you too.” She turns to look at Jon. “With both of you.” 

Jon crosses the room in three quick steps to pull them both into his arms. “That’s good,” he says lightly. “Cause you aren’t getting rid of us now.”

 

* * *

 

 

“We should walk by the river,” Jon says, too quickly. Tommy smirks at him knowingly and Jon rolls his eyes. _Dick._ Tommy’s been throwing him looks all night, but Emily doesn’t seem to have noticed yet.

“That’s a good idea,” Emily says happily. “I need to walk after that dinner. What a treat Jon, but my stomach is already regretting it.”

“You mean you _don’t_ want to head towards Ben and Jerry’s?” Jon teases gently. He’s actually got cake at home from her favorite bakery but if they have to have it for breakfast, he suspects no one is going to complain.  

Tommy groans theatrically. “I literally couldn’t eat another bite. Don’t even mention food for like… a week.” 

“Noted,” Emily giggles, looping her arm through Tommy’s elbow and tugging him down the path. Jon follows them, running his fingers over the box in his pocket. Their hair glows in the light from the moon and the streetlamps, like the angels they are. He still can’t believe this is his actual life sometimes. 

Jon’s phone vibrates in his pocket as they reach the water. _You've got this Prince Charming!_ is followed by three ring emojis and approximately a thousand confettis. He rolls his eyes and sends back a heart before turning his phone to silent and tucking it away.

Emily is pointing out something in the water a few feet ahead, so Jon takes the few steps forward and slowly bends, hoping she won’t notice yet. Tommy definitely sees him over her shoulder, eyes going wide. 

Jon takes a deep breath and opens the ring box in his hand. “Em? Tom?” 

Emily’s hands fly to her mouth when she turns around and sees the rings nestled together. The part of Jon’s brain that isn’t obsessed with his carefully prepared speech takes note of the picture perfect way the diamond shines in the moonlight. 

“Emily,” Jon says intently. “You’ve made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world since the day I met you. I don’t know how some of the most embarrassing moments of my life somehow made you fall for me too, but I’m so glad they did. We wouldn’t have been able to do half of what we’ve done in the past ten years without you supporting us every step of the way and my only regret is the times that you felt like you were secondary to the job and not the glue holding us together. I promise to do my best to never let you forget that you’re one of the two most important things in my life, for the rest of our lives.” 

“Jon,” she says through a sob. Jon holds up a finger and winks at her. 

“Tommy,” Jon says, tilting his head towards Tommy, who’s smiling down at him. “I don’t know what I’d do without you beside me for every high and every low. Whether we’re celebrating political victories or are the most tired and out of shape we’ve ever been, you make it all better just by being you. I can’t wait to keep ill-advisedly intertwining our professional and personal lives forever. 

“I love you both so much and I wouldn’t be me without you,” Jon says around the lump in his throat. “Will you marry me?” 

Emily reaches for him then, pulling at his shoulders forcefully until Jon climbs to his feet in front of her. “Yes!” she squeals, pulling him in for a kiss. Jon leans into the feel of her against his lips and in his hands. He still can’t believe his luck, that she’s his, that she’s _theirs_.  

“Tom?” Jon asks, when he realizes Tommy hasn’t joined their embrace. Emily gasps as they pull apart. 

Jon turns his head and his heart stops. 

“Couldn’t let you have all the fun,” Tommy chuckles from the pavement, where he’s kneeling with a ring that looks like an exact match of the one Jon bought him. 

“Typical,” Jon says, voice cracking.

“You’ve got all the flowery words,” Tommy says, reaching out to take Emily’s hand in his. “But, I love you both more than anything in the world, and the only thing I ever need is to come home to the two of you at the end of the day. I want to marry you. I want us to marry each other, but more than that, I want us all to know, forever, that this is it for us. This has been it for me since I first watched you talk to each other in the union.”

Jon and Emily pull Tommy to his feet in a motion so synchronized that they couldn’t have planned it. Emily tugs him into a kiss first and Jon leans in for his turn the second they separate. 

“You know,” Jon says, fake thoughtfully, as they slip the rings on each other’s fingers with shaking hands. “I bet we’ll get pretty decent tax benefits.” 

“Jonathan!” Tommy yelps.

“I want a divorce,” Emily giggles. 

Jon just grins and links his fingers with theirs.

**Author's Note:**

> 


End file.
